Dow Loses For the Week; S&P 500 Sees Highest Close Since Nov. ’07

By Sam Mamudi

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 48.92 points, or 0.35%, today, but it wasn’t enough to turn around losses from earlier in the week; the benchmark finished the week down 0.12%. The loss snaps a five-week winning streak.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index had a better time of it, finishing the week up 0.31% after gaining 0.57% today to close at 1,517.93, its highest close since Nov. 6, 2007. The index has gained for six straight weeks.

The Russell 2000 index closed up 0.61% to 913.67, a new record close. The index rose 0.27% this week, giving it a sixth consecutive week of gains; it’s now gained in 11 of the past 12 weeks.

The big losers this week were undoubtedly McGraw-Hill (MHP) and Moody’s (MCO), who fell 26.9% and 21.6%, respectively, as investors dumped the ratings agencies over concerns surrounding enforcement actions by US authorities. Among the week’s biggest gainers were CBRE Group (CBG) and Ralph Lauren (RL), up 10.6% and 9.9% after the companies posted good earnings.

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Earnings reports, corporate strategies and analyst insights are all part of what moves stocks, and they’re all covered by the Stocks to Watch blog. We also look at macro issues, investor sentiments and hidden trends that are affecting the market. Stocks to Watch gives you the full picture of the U.S. stock markets, all day long.

The blog is written by Ben Levisohn, a former stock trader who has covered financial markets for the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and BusinessWeek.